1. Field
The present towing apparatuses can be used to tow a variety of structures, including farm implements. Embodiments of the present towing apparatuses are well-suited to being pivotally connected to a three-point hitch (or to a quick hitch that is connected to a three-point hitch) of a tractor.
2. Description of Related Art
Tractors are used to pull a variety of different structures. Most are equipped with a three-point hitch in the rear, which is a mechanism that has two hydraulically operated arms that are spaced laterally from each other (sometimes referred to as “lift arms” or “hitch lifting arms”), and a third arm (sometimes referred to as the “top link”) positioned above the other two. Structures to be trailered can be connected to 2 or more of the three arms either directly or through a towing apparatus of some kind. Alternatively, devices known in the art as “quick hitches” (e.g., element 40 in FIG. 13) can first be connected to the three-point hitch, and then the structure to be trailered (such as a farm implement) can be connected to the quick hitch through a towing apparatus.
One towing apparatus that can be connected directly to a three-point hitch or to a quick hitch that is connected to a three-point hitch is a straight bar (known in the art as a “drawbar”). Certain horizontal drawbars have a pin at each end, which makes the horizontal drawbar pivotally connectable to the lift arms of a three-point hitch or the two lower linkages of a quick hitch. A towing ball or any other suitable hitching structure (e.g., a clevis) can be connected to such horizontal drawbars.
Horizontal drawbars must be stabilized to keep them from rotating. An inverted V-shaped brace has been pinned to the horizontal drawbar and looped over the top link or hook of a quick hitch to achieve such stabilization. A device referred to in the art as a “drawbar lock” has also been connected to at least one of the lift arms of a three-point hitch and threaded over the horizontal drawbar for the same purpose.